


Mark of the Shipwrecked

by Serpex



Series: Annie Week 2020 - Serpex [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Annie Week 2020, EreAnnie, F/M, Fantasy AU, Magic, Mystical Creatures, Pirates, Stranded, Witches, shipwrecked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serpex/pseuds/Serpex
Summary: No matter where Annie goes, trouble is not far behind. This time, she has overstepped her boundaries and as her crew eggs her on, she confronts the wrong enemy. Bombed by the other pirate crew, her ship is in shambles and her crew is stranded on a shore of some cold grove in a little inlet off route. It isn't until she spots someone in the forest that she realizes they aren't alone.
Relationships: Annie Leonhart/Eren Yeager
Series: Annie Week 2020 - Serpex [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666270
Kudos: 8





	Mark of the Shipwrecked

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Annie Week 2020 with prompts set by JesterEddin on Wattpad
> 
> Day 3: Pirates/Witch
> 
> This is an interesting twist for me, I gotta say. For one thing, I've never actually written any fics with this ship, but I figured why the heck not xD So, I hope you guys enjoy it ^^

The sound of silence is a strange one. One minute you can be surrounded by cannon fire and screams and the next time you blink, you open your eyes to see yourself sinking beneath the waves.

The ship is gone. We lost the fight against the other pirates. Who was I even kidding? We were barely enough to call ourselves a crew. We picked a fight with people who had years of experience at sea. Reiner, Bertholdt, and me? We were just a group of ragtag kids who thought we were ready to face the world and live without boundaries. We started with a small sailboat and then took over a dying captain's ship. The dream of being like the pirates from our storybooks was nothing like that of the real thing. We were barely living and didn't have the strength to carry ourselves together. We didn't have a family crew or a talking parrot. We carried metal sticks, not swords.

We were dreamers, not fighters who were ready to carry the title of pirates, ones who rule the sea.

Now, we were lost children abandoned to die.

My mind felt fuzzy like being in a static haze. Time passed differently, and suddenly I woke up to a clear blue sky. Maybe, it could have been heaven, but the pain and soreness that rippled through my body said otherwise.

I groaned as I dragged myself up to my feet. I felt a little dizzy but finally got my wits together. I could see Reinder and Bertholdt's bodies laying further along the shoreline half-buried in the sand and half in the water. I was relieved to see they were still breathing. Their chests rose and fell, albeit it was shallow. But, they weren't dead.

I took the chance to grasp where we were. It looked like after we were blown up, the ocean currents sucked us into an island inlet of sorts. The shoreline made a sandy crescent that moved into a glade that snaked into a tall forest. Everything wrapped around each other like one object would compliment the next. It was a truly undisturbed piece of nature. Aside from the soft waves coming in and the breeze shaking the trees, the whole place was eerily quiet. 

I shook the others awake and we slowly got ourselves together. Some of the driftwood that washed up with us, had been dried by the sun and were brittle. We couldn't re-build the ship, but we would at least have some firewood.

We made it a priority to dry our clothes first and get a fire going. But, from here we had to figure out what to do. We didn't have any tools or even food. The best we could do was break off some sticks and make some spears. It was too late to regret our decisions. We were a bit too far into this mess to turn back.

"I can make us some temporary shelters. It won't be much, but I got the strength to drag over some rocks and tie down some sticks and leaves. It'll be a tent of sorts. It ain't anything compared to our beds, but it'll be something," Reiner said.

"I can help with that and then get more wood to keep this thing going," Bertholdt added. I nodded and then grabbed a spear.

"We'll be fine for a bit, but if I can nab us any food then we'll be okay," I replied. The boys exchanged a nervous glance but waved me off.

"Just stay safe, Annie," Bertholdt said. I gave a small smile before heading off on my own. 

It wasn't long before I could no longer see them through the foliage. This oasis was full of many different plants, but nothing seemed to be ripe or enough to be considered edible. The preparation would take too long, we didn't even have a knife. All of a sudden, the trees started to thin, and I stepped into a clearing. I was shocked to see a little cottage at its center. I ducked behind a tree seeing if anyone was around and from the center rose a tall thin witch. I couldn't even believe what I was seeing. Witches were one of the mythical beings like sirens except they were found on land. It seemed to be a male and had bright green eyes. He wore a soft dark blue robe and moved about a variety of herbs. Little fluttering fairies went about and hummed a gentle tune as the witch moved about. It was almost a captivating sight until the fairies left and the witch jerked his head to my direction. I gasped realizing he knew I was here. 

"You can come out, you know. Eavesdropping is rather rude when you're a stranger who has yet to introduce yourself," he called out. I didn't know much about witches except their affinity with the mystic realm was strong, and that made them unpredictably dangerous. 

I shirked out from behind the tree and walked down to the edge of the garden. The witch looked me over. I could see now that he looked a bit tired. His eyes drooped in a derpy fashion and sweat matted his dark brown hair to his forehead. Somehow, the look suited him almost in a handsome way. 

He seemed unthreatened by my presence and changed to have a smile.

"Well, you don't seem like such a bad person, although I assume you must be the disturbance that the animals have spoken of. My name is Eren, and you are?" He walked over and held out a hand.

"It's Annie," I answered. "What do you mean by disturbance?" Eren waved his hands gesturing to the forest.

"This place is an isolated glade that I created long ago. Aside from myself and the other creatures who live in this sanctuary, there are no other... humans. I suppose I barely fit in that myself, though. I assume you know that much. We are at peace here. However, the animals were perturbed by an unnatural presence as of recent," he explained. I suddenly saw where his concern was coming from.

"It would make sense then. I... My crew and I, we were attacked at sea and obliterated. We were washed up on the shore. We didn't meant intrude, but we no longer have a vessel. We will be stranded here for a few days," I said. "We plan to gather resources enough to build a boat of some kind and sustain ourselves. I am sorry that we have to intrude in your lives so abruptly." Eren looked at me for a moment as if in pity, a crestfallen gaze shadowing over his eyes.

"Things happen in life. I understand that much. Were you fishermen?" he asked. I shied away and shook my head.

"Pirates," I corrected.

"What an interesting career choice," he mused as he raised a brow but did not ask further into it. "Well, do you need any help?" I flinched at his offer.

"What do you mean?" I inquired. Eren smirked and looked at the garden.

"I can't really help with building a ship or boat or whatever. But, I can help with food and things like that. You all obviously don't really know what's out there, but I can keep the more aggressive species at bay. Of course, not all of them like me, but they all have enough respect for me to leave me alone if I demand it. It'll give you the ease of safety as you wander around. Will you accept?" 

I doubted his generosity. It was so out of the blue and could be a chance for him to get rid of us. And yet, if his words held truth, we could use it. We were all exhausted and trying to recover the best we could. Any help that came now would be the best thing in the world.

"That would be amazing, honestly," I admitted. "You'd really do that for us?" Eren nodded.

"Sure. I'm a sucker for lending a hand where it's needed. If you need supplies, I'll do the best of my ability to provide that for you and your crew, Annie," he declared. "Let's get to it, yeah?" The warmth and joy that I felt from this guy were unbelievable. 

"I would love that. Thank you, Eren."

I took him back to the site to introduce him to Reiner and Bertholdt. It seemed like he was immediately a part of our family. He just seemed to click with us as if there was some underlying connection bringing us all together. Eren provided us with extra clothes, blankets, food, medicine, and even some actual metal tools to get materials. With his help, we were able to make a good shelter and even eat a warm filling meal. It wasn't until the sun began to set that I saw that Eren had disappeared. Reiner and Bertholdt both were already tucked into blankets and were ready to turn in for the day. I wanted to thank the witch again for his help, but somehow the man standing next to me had vanished. 

On intuition, I headed back to the cottage to see Eren sitting on his roof. The moonlight seemed to roll off his robe and shimmer like a crystal. He was like a wolf bathing under the moon, a quiet beast that carried nature's calling. I felt like I could have stared at him for hours. If I had the means, I would have kept the sight of him as a photograph.

I took a running start and jumped onto the roof, moving to lay next to him. Eren looked over at me as if curious as to why I was there.

"I figured you would have gone to sleep," Eren commented. 

"I will later," I snarkily replied. "I wanted to find you and thank you again for helping us. But, something has been nagging me. You didn't just help us for the sake of helping us, did you?" Eren snorted and then broke into guilty laughter.

"If you really want to know," he began. "You guys remind me of myself. I used to loath being a witch. I had a natural talent for the art, but instead of taking it on when I was younger, I made the choice to go adventuring. It backfired and I ended up getting hurt from it. People made fun of me for it, so I left on my final adventure. That was what led me here in the first place. Seeing you guys made me remember that joy. It makes me want to go back to adventuring someday." He closed his eyes as if remembering the past. I huffed finding it ironic since I felt so wronged by adventuring earlier, that the pirate life wasn't right. But, Eren wanted that life even with the risk, seeing what could happen, and knowing what will inevitably happen again. Some part of me wanted to see him happy like that next to me.

"What would you say if I could make that dream come true?" I asked. "We could use someone like you around." Eren opened his eyes and glanced over, seeing I was serious about my offer. His brow furrowed as he thought it over.

"I'll have to think that over. I've built a life out here and leaving it isn't as easy as it was before. Maybe I'll go. Maybe I'll stay. But, I've enjoyed your company in these shorts moments. It touches me you came all the way out here to thank me. You are much more sincere and open that when we met. You felt like a guarded individual, but you are much sweeter than I thought. It's a charming feature that I adore." Heat rose to my face, and I buried myself into shirt.

"Yeah. Well, I would love to see you more, Eren," I mumbled into the fabric, but I knew he heard me. The other grinned and turned back towards the sky, looking towards the shining moon chuckling.

"I'll have to think about that, too. But, Annie, the thought is very welcoming." If my body could combust into flames, I would be the brightest bonfire right now.

"Think about it faster, you bastard," I sneered. Eren chuckled and moved to pull me into his body. I practically melted into his side falling for his touch.

"Request noted, stranger. But, I guess we don't need to be anymore," he whispered. I hummed into his chest and wrapped my arms around him.

"No, we don't."

**Author's Note:**

> So, did I stay up until 2 am writing this? Yeah. Was this over 1k words? Yeah. Am I surprised? Absolutely.
> 
> I never really explored the Annie/Eren ship before. I don't read the ship much. I sometimes see fanart for it outside of my typical Levi/Eren and Levi/Hanji stuff that I worship. So, writing with these two has been a thrill. I know they're going to be a bit OOC, but I'm fine with that. Maybe, I'll write a longer fic with these guys later. I don't know, but I hope you enjoyed it ^^


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